Working Together

Capabilities Client Charter Process DesignPacks Awards Practices
Practices
 Transfer of Technology
 

Our standard payment model provides clients with unrestricted rights to all designs and patents arising out of commissioned projects. Therefore, once all work and expenses are paid, our clients are free to use our designs without further payment or royalty. To facilitate this, we work in an open and cooperative way, keeping you informed of progress in detail and transferring the result and know-how to you stage-by-stage as the project advances. This ensures that you are in full possession and control of the outcome of the assignment.
Confidentiality
  

CobaltNiche understands the importance of protecting our client’s product development plans, communication, information and strategic, commercial, and technological knowledge. Unless authorised, we will not disclose any information gained from you to your competitors.

Similarly, we will strictly limit information available to third parties such as suppliers, to the minimum information required for their services.

We will not accept any directly comparable assignments from our clients’ competitors for an agreed period after the project’s completion.
Payment Models

CobaltNiche’s standard payment arrangement is a fees-for-time model where payments are due progressively during the project. Once development is complete, no further payments are due and the client has full rights to all designs and patents arising from the commissioned project. This model is preferred by most of our clients as it balances risk and control of intellectual property.

Other alternatives payment models are available and may be suitable for some projects or conditions. These can be considered before a project commences or at future stages of development. 

Model          Description                         Typical applications                          Development   Fees(Due during development)            Royalties
(Due during production)
Standard model ‘Fixed’ fees for defined scope. CobaltNiche accepts risk for internal over-runs Most projects Standard fees Nil
Hourly contract All hours charged but at a lower rate. Increased reporting of activities to safeguard budget blowouts Projects or tasks with unclear objectives Moderately discounted fees Nil
Success model Development cost discounted/capped with a bonus payable only on ‘success’ Projects with a definable goal
(i.e. winning major contract, or meeting a deadline) 		 Discounted fees One off bonus
Shared risk model Development cost discounted/capped in return for an on-going royalty of sales Mutually beneficial projects Discounted fees Royalty on sales

 

Project Management
 

CobaltNiche has years of experience in managing development projects within tight deadlines and budgets. This involves know-how and processes that reduce wasted effort, minimise risk and co-ordinates tasks.
We prefer to work closely with our clients, acting as a member of one product development team.
We would seek to establish an agreed project management structure before formally commencing the project. Through experience we generally recommend the following project management practices:

  • Nominate a CobaltNiche project leader to be the principal contact point. As prime contractor, CobaltNiche would be fully responsible for issues relating to sub-contractors we commission
  • Regular ‘project management reports’ supplemented by meetings and telephone calls
  • Use of Microsoft Project software to plan and monitor progress of major tasks
  • Divide project into separate stages as outlined. This allows evaluation of progress against agreed objectives and budgets before proceeding to subsequent stages

 

Lynx

Lynx 2.0 is CobaltNiche’s own project information and management system. It provides complete project management and business operations information across our enterprise.

Although the benefits of Lynx are mainly internal, for clients the system allows us to provide better project management, progress tracking and budget information. It also allows us to improve efficiencies.  

As an overview, Lynx integrates a diverse range of information including:

  • Comprehensive company database of clients and suppliers
  • Task-based Proposal estimation files, including professional hours, expenses and defining project risks
  • Project management information listing all critical information such as hours booked, hours overbooked, and invoicing summary
  • Streamlined invoicing using scripting to automate routine tasks
  • Integration of project planning and performance targets, relevant to each staff member, to facilitate workflows and focus on utilisation
  • Back-office records of assets, financial services, staff appraisals, archiving, dispatch and company performance measures
  • VisualLibrary: database of over 2000 products images cross-referenced by keywords. These images are often used early in new design projects to short-track to a preferred visual direction for a given product
  • Catalogue of items from our creative and technical libraries

As Lynx can be published to the web, staff working in remote client sites or in other overseas offices can use the system remotely. Eventually, clients will also be able to access their own project file information to check on progress and invoicing through any web-browser software.